New Stephen Wise Temple Board member Lisa Niver converses with Andrew Cushnir at Board Installation Shabbat in Zeldin-Hershenson Hall on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Raz Husany)
Travel writer, author, podcaster, and Stephen Wise Temple Board member Lisa Niver was profiled this week on Bloomberg.com, and gushed about Wise’s kehillah kedosha (sacred community) to reporter Lebawit Lily Girma.
In between offering travel tips, Niver—who has visited over 100 countries—expressed her fondness and love for having such a meaningful place to return, no matter how far afield she travels.
“Over the years, I have participated in holidays and Shabbat around the world,” Lisa says. “Feeling grounded in Judaism, whether I am spending the holidays at home or away, the music and the prayers are important to me. Being welcomed back to my spiritual home has made a huge difference in my nomadic lifestyle.”
As a journalist, Lisa often shares articles about Wise clergy and services, most often through her column in the Jewish Journal. Lisa’s memoir, Brave-ish: One Breakup, Six Continents, and Feeling Fearless After Fifty, will launch this Tuesday, Sept. 19, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Lisa’s podcast, Make Your Own Map, launched this summer and has been watched on six continents. It was a finalist for two Southern California Journalism Awards in 2023.
Elected this summer as a Congregational Director, Lisa is a graduate of Wise’s religious school program. Wise’s founder, Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, officiated her bat mitzvah. She began her “nomadic” lifestyle by spending a summer in Israel on LA Ulpan, and went on to study abroad in Jerusalem at Hebrew University. She returned to Israel with her family for Rabbi Zeldin’s 80th birthday celebration
Lisa has taught religious school at Wise and science at Brawerman Elementary, and has spoken at Wise about the Jews of Morocco (join our trip there next February!). Through the Jewish Federation, Lisa was part of the Rautenberg New Leaders Project and a mentor for the Julie Beren Platt Teen Innovation Grants Program.
Lisa’s mother, Judi Niver, also served on the temple’s board and both parents are active members in the temple community. Lisa is a regular at Shabbat services and during COVID, she helped coordinate political leaders to read the prayer for our country.
